


The End of The Beginning

by Excalipur



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Sexual Humor, Swearing, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-04-11
Packaged: 2019-02-28 07:34:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13266720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Excalipur/pseuds/Excalipur
Summary: It's been twenty years since monsters came to the Surface, establishing a kingdom of peace and prosperity that was destined to last forever; however, such a peace could not possibly be achieved without the aid of a few humans and monsters, who valiantly fight, each for their own reasons, to protect their very own nation...





	1. Prologue: Limbo

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work I started to finish what I began two years ago, to draw a conclusion to a saga that, due to my own faults as a writer, perhaps could have been written and defined a bit better. This is a gift, to all those of you who have followed me over my year on this site, watching me develop as a content creator and as a person: from the bottom of my heart, I thank you all.
> 
> Updates, as well as the length of each chapter and the narrating voice, will be inconsistent, but I hope to finish this work before the end of the year.

Why am I even here? Why am I walking these dirty, unclean roads in search of a decent place to eat? Why am I wasting my precious time in this God-forsaken country, when I could be eating the most refined food and reading the most interesting books in the safe, quiet haven that is my home? May you be damned, Lucy, you and your dumb bets: I do not know how you keep winning so easily, but I will find a way to defeat you one day!

I keep strolling down the unfamiliar road, cautious of anyone foolish enough to attempt to assault me, but everything seems calm at present. There are many fools wasting their time in this wretched street, as far as I can see: most of them are humans of different ethnicities and nationalities, who are too busy plotting something malicious in their own big groups to even glance at me, but there are also a few lone monsters, who probably came here to visit and are in the process of returning home.

To the human eye, the monsters look like a giant toad and a scrawny but equally big mouse, but make no mistake: I learned the hard way that monsters can be hypocrites just like any human. The confirmation comes immediately afterwards: while they are walking together, they turn around for an instant and witness me, standing alone in the middle of the street, observing them. I do not know either of them, but they evidently recognize me: the two start talking amongst themselves about me as they quickly walk away, fearful. Hypocrites! Dissing a man with such wide grins when he is standing right there! If you have something to say, say it to my face you cowards!

Bah, why do I care about them anyway? Let us focus on finding a locale to dine, and be done for tonight: and lo, on the other side of the road, a restaurant called ‘The Safe Place’. What an awful title, I say, and the edifice’s exterior looks even worse; however, it appears as though the few humans inside are enjoying their meals, so I might as well pick it out of the many others. Hopefully, I do not come to regret it…

 

This city’s scary: it’s so big, and so dark, that I can’t even tell where I’m going. Well, I wouldn’t know where I was going even if it weren’t so big and dark, but that’s not the point! The point is, I’m scared. And alone. And clueless. Did I already say I’m scared?

I’m used to my room. My room is my whole world. My room is pink, and bright, and soft. It’s safe from the terrible smells, the awful sins and the horrible, soulless people of the world. But I left my room, and now I’m here. I don’t know anyone, and everyone’s looking at me in a weird way. Some guys keep staring at me from the corners of the road. I don’t like their stares. Only dad is allowed to look at me like that.

And where’s this ‘border’ anyway? Where’s this kingdom I keep hearing about? I only see dull roads and grey buildings, and each one is more or less the same as the last! I feel disoriented. And hungry. Where’s my food? Oh, right: in my room. Which I left. Four hours ago. Maybe this was a bad idea...

Wait, what’s that? ‘The Safe Place’… restaurant? Isn’t that a place where they serve food and drinks and all that good stuff? It is! If I didn’t know better I would call this a coincidence, but I know what this is! This is fate! I bet someone up there’s looking out for me! Well, I can’t pass up an opportunity like this: time to open the doors and see for myself what’s inside!

This place is great! The green, fluffy chairs seem comfortable, the brown wooden tables are very spacious, and since there aren’t many people there’s not much noise either! Plus, there’s a yummy scent coming from the kitchen… this is awesome! Oh, wait: aren’t you supposed to give something in return for your food? You are, aren’t you? Fudge… how am I supposed to eat now?

Wait, I know! I just have to convince someone else to pay for me! I know this works because I read something like this in a book! But it won’t be easy since all the tables that are taken are full… except one.

There’s this… weird guy sitting in a corner by himself. He seems lonely and sad, and everyone else tries not to stare at him for too long. He’s wearing a long coat, pants and shoes, all black, as well as white gloves, a white, decorated neckband and a long, red, feathery scarf; he looks like a noble from my favourite book, and he even radiates the same aura of magnificence and elegance that aristocrats usually do! He’s so handsome! This must be a sign as well, right?

…Oh, fudge: he’s looking right at me! With his red, sharp, piercing eyes! It’s like he’s staring straight into my soul! I’m paralyzed! What do I do? Do I approach him, or back away? I’m not used to making decisions for myself! Where’s dad when you need him?

 

What in tarnation is that monster doing, standing right there in the middle of the locale, aiming his gaze at me? It’s not even that cold in here, but his whole body is shaking like a leaf in the wind! He’s definitely a half-breed, and he looks like someone took a cat, a dog, and just a little bit of shark, melted them all together in a cauldron and fused them to create… a small, pink, very frail creature that is as harmless as it is ‘cute’, as Lucy would probably call him. He also appears to be a child: I would give him fourteen years of age, at most… which is merely four less than mine, but I digress. His eyes are wide open, but his lips are sealed shut: just what am I supposed to do with him?

“You.”, I beckon him specifically, but accidentally cause all the other customers to turn to face me as well, their faces frozen in fear; “What are you doing?”, I inquire, almost curious, as everyone else returns to their meaningless conversations now that they are sure I am not referring to them.

“M-Me? I…”, the monster mutters, but his awkwardness prevents him from speaking further: this is truly getting irritating.

“What do you want?”, I ask once more, a tad angrier than before, “If you have business with me, speak up! Otherwise, run along: I am not one for games or charades.”

“C-Can I borrow your… help, pretty-please?”, the monster manages to say, in the most ‘adorable’ voice he can muster, after a few more seconds of total silence. He requires my aid, he says? I honestly cannot recall when was the last time a complete stranger begged for my assistance: nevertheless, it would be unbecoming of someone such as myself if I rejected him without even listening to what he has to say.

“Fine. Come here, and ask away.”, I respond as I get up and pull out a chair for him to sit on; the monster’s previously worried expression swiftly changes into one of utter thankfulness and he can barely keep himself together as he slides into the chair and pulls himself closer to the table. Who taught this kid proper manners? I bet none did such a thing.

“So, what is your name?”, I inquire as I sit down next to him and grab the restaurant’s menu from the other side of the table, searching, to no avail, for a decent meal to be had.

“My… name?”, the monster replies, unsure; “I don’t have one.”

“How so?”, I continue, further perplexed by his demeanor.

“But dad always calls me his ‘princess’, so… maybe you can do the same, if you want?”, he suddenly adds, looking straight at me with a confused but hopeful look on his soft face. Honestly, I do not know what to say: he’s definitely a boy, and yet he claims he is a girl… I think. I thought monsters were above the so-called ‘Discourse’, as we have come to call it, but evidently there are still a few exceptions to the rule. Well, I might as well address him as such for the time being, since he obviously does not want to tell me what his real name is.

“Excuse me.”, the waiter beckons us from behind us, with a white notebook in his right hand and a sharp pencil in the other; the look in his eyes tells me that he knows very well who I am, and as such is particularly wary of me. “May I know your priority score? It’s just a formality but, as you know, I am required by law to know it before I can proceed with your order.”, he adds, with an annoyed look on his old visage. Hypocrite! I can see it in your eyes you hate this ridiculous law, and yet you follow it in presence of esteemed people, such as myself, who could not care less about it? What an outrageous mess you are! Although, I bet you are even more rotten on the inside than you are showing right now.

“Take this and forget your ‘priority number’.”, I mutter with a grim voice as I offer the human a couple of shiny, gold coins from my pockets, “Now cook me whatever you do best. And of course, be fast.”; the waiter eyes my money for a split-second, then hastily grabs it and shoves it down his large pockets before writing down something on his paper. Hah! Double the hypocrisy! Are a few gold coins enough to convince you to go against the law, against your own wretched hypocrisy? How disgusting, how despicable! You make me sick.

“And you?”, the hypocrite inquires as he turns to face the ‘princess’. Even though the monster told me he only needed my help, his face tells me he is also quite hungry as well: I suppose I can allow him to dine in my company, if his situation is so dire that it needs an elaborate explanation. I honestly despise helping, or even chatting with complete strangers, but something about him and the way he talks is allowing me to go against my nature, even if only for a while: I only hope it will be worth it in the end.

“O-Oh, you’re asking me what I’d like to eat, right?”, the monster awkwardly asks back, visibly unsure of what to do in this situation; after a couple of suspicious looks from both me and the waiter and a brief confirmation from the latter, the boy continues, excited “Well, I don’t know what you make here, so I’ll just take whatever he did. It must be something good if he ordered it!”; instead of handing him the menu to let him know he could choose from a vast variety of equally terrible dishes, the hypocrite put a mark next to my order and walked away, as calm as a human can be.

Truly, I have no words to describe a human as corrupted and hypocritical as that waiter that I have not already used...

 

So calm! So collected! So handsome! This noble is amazing! Dad never told me there were people like this person in the world beyond my room, beyond our house! Looking at him is almost making me forget my hunger… wait, what’s his name again?

“Uhm, sorry…”, I try to grab his attention, and soon he turns to face me: up until now he’s been staring at the waiter with a really weird, angry expression, but now that he’s looking at me he’s returned to his more poised and confident self. “What’s your name, mister?”, I demand, mimicking what the main character of my favourite book asks everyone that they don’t know.

“Are you jesting?”, he replies with a very puzzled and worried look on his face, “Are you seriously implying that you cannot recognize me from somewhere? You cannot possibly be telling the truth…”

“Nuh-uh.”, I tell him as I shake my head the way dad taught me to.

The noble grabs his chin with his right hand and wonders for a while before answering my question: “Fine! I shall tell you who I am!”, he boasts, as he closes his eyes and elegantly puts his right hand over his chest “Remember my name, o child, for you are speaking with the one and only Hamlet!”

Hamlet… it’s such a handsome name! All characters in my book had great names, but his is the best one by far! I thought reality was dull and boring, but with Hamlet right next to me it’s becoming better and better by the minute! I feel like the main character in a novel all about me!

“It’s clear from your reaction that you were not attempting to fool me. You are, by far, one of the most honest persons I have ever had the privilege of talking to… as well as one of the most mysterious.”, he compliments me, making me fall from the clouds.

“Really? Thank you, so much!”, I thank him while winking my left eye the way dad loves the most; Hamlet’s reaction is very different from my dad’s, however, as his cheeks redden for a second while he clears his throat, almost like he’s in distress. It lasted only a brief instant, I know, but his strange reaction makes me wonder if I’ve done something wrong. It also makes me feel as though I’m forgetting something really important...

Oh, since this whole conversation seems straight out of a novel, I bet his name has an interesting backstory as well! Like he slew a demon and then… or maybe he saved a princess and… oh, fudge, I can’t think of anything! But there’s got to be a reason behind it, right?

I ask him just that, and he immediately tells me, ruining my dreams “Truth be told, there is no particular reason behind it: my mother is merely a great esteemer of culture, and back then she was notably fond of the famous Shakespearean drama.”; after a while, he also adds “My name’s history is irrelevant, however: what is indeed important to me is what people associate to it.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”, I ask, really curious.

Hamlet gets up from his chair, strikes up a pose I can only describe as heroic and says, while a fire burns in his eyes, “It means that I do not plan on living a life of lies and deception, a life that will soon be forgotten by everyone! It means I aspire to be a gentleman, a nobleman, a hero: an upholder of all the virtues that make one admirable and enviable! And while it may take years, decades, or even my whole life to do so, I will inspire the world through my actions to return to its former beauty and glory: mark my words, o child, for this shall be the legacy of Hamlet Alighieri!”

As many of the other clients leave the restaurant either because they’re done eating or because they don’t like his speech, my eyes can’t help but shine in admiration: have I already said how much I love this man’s character? Maybe I did… but I still love it so, so much! I love every aspect of him! I love his beautiful clothes, his deep voice, his fancy hair… wait, what was I here to do again?

“Gah, what am I even saying? This is not why I am chatting with you at all!”, Hamlet suddenly yells aloud as he shakes his head in frustration; after regaining his composure he asks me, very seriously “You claimed you needed my aid, correct? You have my attention now, so do tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Oh, right… sorry, I forgot for a second!”, I tell him, laughing softly to try, and fail, to lighten up his mood, “So, what’s this kingdom everyone’s talking about? And where is it?; instead of answering straight away, the noble stares at me for a couple of seconds, even more suspicious than before.

“What? Is this a prank? Do you have amnesia or some other kind of illness?”, the skeptical man asks me, unwilling to tell me what I want to know.

“What’s ‘amnesia’? And I told you: I’m not lying to you! I don’t know where this kingdom is, but I really, really want to find it. I thought you could help, but...”, I say, trying to look as adorable and sad as possible to try to convince him to give in to my request like I do with my dad.

Just like before, however, he doesn’t react to my cute looks at all, and instead insists that I am lying to him “All monsters should know what, and where, is the ‘Dream Kingdom’: they all live in it, after all. They may come out from time to time to tour what little beauties this otherwise awful nation has to offer, or even to do shopping like my sister often does, but none possess homes outside of it. As such, there are only two possibilities: either you are lying, or-”

“Excuse me.”, we hear a voice behind us say, forcing Hamlet to stop interrogating me for a second: it’s the waiter from before, who I’ve never been more thankful to see and who’s back with our dinner, which is… much more solid than I expected it to be, and much drier too. Is the liquid I have to drink inside, or… where am I supposed to look? How am I supposed to eat this ‘entrecote’, as he calls it?

As the human leaves, I finally remember the important thing that I’d forgotten earlier: I still have to pay for this thing! My original plan was to get some directions and convince Hamlet to pay for my dinner by treating him like I do my dad, but ever since I sat on this chair I kept deviating more and more from my initial idea! Oh, fudge: what am I supposed to do now?

 

“Hey, uh…”, I hear my companion whisper me as I attempt to savour the ludicrous abomination this man claims to be a grilled entrecote, “I know I should’ve said this sooner, but…”

“...But what? Be honest and clear.”, I tell him, as I sharply cut a piece of that dry meat and grab it with my silver fork.

“...I don’t have any money with me. And frankly, I don’t know how to eat this thing either.”, he confesses awkwardly, causing my eyes to widen and my hand to drop the fork it was holding: for a few seconds I meditate on what he just told me, unable and, perhaps, unwilling to process the truth that lays right before me.

“So, this is what it is…”, I manage to mutter between my teeth, my previous curiosity towards the boy now mutated into blind anger, “This was your plan, was it not? To lie to me, over and over again, so I could procure you something to eat? How treacherous.”

“No! I mean, yes, but… I didn’t mean it! This makes me sound like the bad guy!”, he replies in return, feigning to be as distraught and heartbroken as I am, but my eyes can see through his deception quite easily now.

“Oh, really? Because I do not know how else to call someone as despicable as you are!”, I yell at him as I get up from my seat, incapable of keeping my hatred towards him repressed any longer, “Lying to me only to get free food… unbelievable! Unbelievable, I say!”

“Please, stop! You’re making me cry…”, he dares claim, with tears in his eyes; “I’m sorry… I didn’t want it to go like this! Please, listen to me!”, he adds, but I do not plan to be fooled by the likes of him any longer.

“Hypocrite! You concoct a plan, and then apologize when it fails?”, I roar at him, making him whimper in fear; “Take your food, and begone! I should thank you for reminding me why I hate everyone in this rotten world, but your deception was so credible that I am in no mood to do that.”, I tell him, as I quickly go to the bathroom to clean my face of the tears that may have formed without my consent.

As I close the door to the porcelain-clad room and begin washing my face, which thankfully did not produce any visible tears during that short burst of anger, I hear the sobbing monster run out of the locale as quickly as a rabbit attempting to escape from the jaws of a rabid wolf: ‘Are you satisfied with yourself?’, I keep a voice, mine, talk to me like in a dream, ‘This is the reason you have no friends. Friendship evades you like a plague, because friendship seeks a selfless soul that you do not possess. Friends are thieves: they take what they can from you and then run away into the night like phantoms. You are alone, you have always been and always will be: carry your loneliness with pride, because you will be the slave of no-one and the one, true master of yourself!’

I get out of the bathroom: as I suspected, there is nobody outside. However, the meal the monster kid ordered is still there: I would say that’s a waste of money but, in truth, ‘tis more of a waste of my own time. I sit back on my chair and attempt to finish my entrecote, which is not as bad as I originally thought it was, but I feel too awful to finish it. I direct my gaze towards the untouched piece of meat right next to me, stare at it for what feels like eternity, and finally mutter aloud, incapable of doing otherwise “Fine! I shall bring that boy his dinner: I suppose he deserves it for playing me so well.”

I touch the silvery plate with my hand and close my eyes for a second: when I reopen them, the plate is no longer there. I get up from my seat, meticulously calculate the amount of gold I owe the owner of this place for what little he offered me and add in a little extra for the plate I will never return, then I lay that amount on the counter in front of the kitchen before leaving in utter silence.

As I get out of the building, I cannot help but feel that the previously crowded street is now much, much quieter: a few humans still dare tread this dangerous road, but they are not even enough to fill a car.

Suddenly, a scream: a desperate request for aid slices the night in half, convincing everyone else to double their walking speed. Despite knowing fully well who this voice belongs to, I decide, out of what little compassion I have left, to rescue whoever is in need and go against my better judgment, who brutally scolds me for falling for the same trap twice in a row.

However, perhaps I am not falling in yet another trap after all: I find out the scream is coming from an obscure, dirty and fetid side-alley, and indeed standing right in the middle of it are four grotesque human men, not much older than me, and a rather effeminate monster, the latter of whom is being held at knifepoint by what I assume is the leader of the gang. The humans look like generic thugs, a common, but still insufferable sight in this hideous town, while the monster that they are trapping and harrassing is, as I originally suspected, the ‘princess’ that I conversed with just a few minutes before: he is crying while keeping his eyes closed, and it does not seem like he is going to get out of this situation by himself any time soon. What an awful coincidence, if I may say so myself.

“Shut up, kid: we’re just going to bring you somewhere fun with us, we’re not going to kill you!”, the human with the knife tells the monster, while his equally menacing companions laugh in unison; “Though, if you keep struggling like you are right now, maybe we should ‘soften you up’ before bringing you anywhere, huh?”, he adds, seeking the approval of his depraved mates, who all nod maliciously.

“You.”, I valiantly say, not an ounce of emotion in my voice: all those in the alley, including the monster, instantly turn to face me, unsure of who it might be; “What do you think you are doing?”, I add, letting the boy know exactly who is rescuing him from his terrible luck.

“Mister? Is that you?”, the monster replies, both happy and sad to see me; “Don’t come closer! I don’t want you to get hurt because of me again…”, he immediately adds, but his words fail to change my intent.

The other criminals quickly shut the boy up while one of them responds to me, upset that I am interfering with their plans, “I dunno you, but I’d rather know who you think you are, coming here all of a sudden!”; while the crooked man laughs at his own comment, joined by two of his companions, the fourth thug ironically inquires “Yeah, what do you want with this little guy anyway? Sorry man: it’s first comes, first served!”

Annoyed by such a distasteful attempt at mockery, I immediately reply, as the plate of meat that I took earlier materializes amidst a black fog in my right hand, “You misunderstand: I merely came here to give the boy the meal he forgot at the restaurant earlier. I would not want to see the time and effort he put into deceiving me go to waste, after all.”; as I leave the dish on top of a nearby garbage bin, I add, trying to mimic my sister’s way of insulting others, “After all, that poor child needs to eat in order to grow big and strong, and I am afraid that what you plan on serving him would not be enough ‘filling’ to do the trick.”

The gangsters, now visibly and audibly angered, send the last thug who spoke to silence me once and for all; as he approaches me slowly, with a sinister grin on his face and a deadly knife in the other, I hear the ‘princess’ speak to me, once again attempting to convince me to desist, “Hamlet, please! Save yourself!”

 

[ **Fearless White Blade** , cover by Jonny ‘GaMetal’ Atma (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx0ucUfdvu8&list=RDTx0ucUfdvu8)]

 

But alas, it’s too late: the shady human already lunges at me with his short blade, aiming for my vital areas! His technique is poor, but his strength is undeniable: just one slice would be the enough to kill a normal man! Little does he know, I am no normal man: not at all, in fact. Let this be a lesson for the others, who dare challenge me to a brawl.

“ **Minerva!** ”, I shout, as a long, elegant, agile and, most of all, sharp rapier appears in my right hand amidst a small whirlwind of black dust, eager to pierce the corrupted souls of these buffoons: with a single strike, the swift blade drills through the man’s right lung, freezing him in place as pain and blood surge from within the wound, causing him to scream even louder than the monster did just a couple of minutes before.

My arm slides backwards, allowing the sword to exit the wound, before charging once again and delivering another fatal blow to my opponent’s left lung: unsatisfied, I repeat the motion again and again, again and again, until every single organ that is not vital to this man’s immediate survival has been pierced by my weapon, then slice his body from below to send him flying in the air above. I jump to follow him, then finish him off with a series of hasty, but nevertheless painful slashes that ultimately culminate in a final stoke to the criminal’s heart, who immediately drops dead as I gracefully land on the ground.

“Well, that was a nice warm up.”, I say, as I stand up and point my rapier at the group of thugs, who are looking more and more desperate each second, “Now, who shall be next?”

“H-He killed Jerry! That bastard killed him!”, the human that is holding the ‘princess’ hostage exclaims, incapable of processing what he just witnessed with his own hands, “S-Stand back! I’ll kill this little fucker if you won’t!”.

“Wait! I know this guy!”, one of his accomplices yells, alerting his comrades of the truth, “He’s the fucked up son of that fucked up bodyguard from the kingdom! The one with superpowers and shit!”

“You dare insult me and my father like that?”, I yell, furious beyond imagination, as I slowly approach the men with my rapier pointed towards them, “Hypocrites! Lowlives like you dare critique someone like me, or the man from which I hail? If this were not pathetic, I would find it funny.”

From my pockets I grab a glass container that looks like a green pill of some sort and rapidly throw it towards the thug whose knife is aimed at the monster’s neck: the capsule travels fast through the air and, just as I expected, the man is forced to slash it using his own knife to defend himself; however, when he splits the minuscule bottle in half, nothing comes out of it… at least, nothing visible.

Now that the blade is no longer near him, the hostage realizes he can break free of the criminal’s embrace: not without difficulty, he slips free of the human’s vise and falls to the ground, safe and sound. Seeing this, I finally flick my fingers: the air in front of the man turns into a small cloud of fire, which then turns into a gust aimed directly at his face. My enemy screams, shouts and desperately attempts to put out the fire that is engulfing his head and upper torso completely, but in the end he, too, falls down to the cold hard ground, lifeless.

Realizing that he no longer is in immediate danger, the monster kid runs towards me, as happy as a child can be: “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re so amazing, Hamlet!”, he screams in my ear as he jumps around, excited.

“Of that, I am sure. Now, sit down for a minute: I am still not done with those fools.”, I order him as I proceed towards the two remaining thugs, ready to put them out of their misery once and for all.

“N-No! Please! Spare me! I-I don’t wanna die!”, one of the men begs me, cold tears in his green eyes; “C-Come on, man: I have a girlfriend… a-and two brothers! I promise to stop doing this shit if you let me be, so please, spare me!”, the other continues, praying to whatever God is out there that he may leave this alleyway alive. But nobody comes, and nobody will.

“Be silent!”, I yell at them, having reached the pinnacle of my fury, “Hypocrites! What kind of man that dares threaten the life of another is reduced to such a pitiable state once someone does the same to him? A hypocrite! You are both hypocrites of the highest caliber!”; I grab another capsule from my pocket and throw it in my mouth before ripping it to shreds with my razor-sharp teeth, preparing myself to unleash the anger that I have been storing all day against these two sore losers.

“Hypocrites.”, I mutter through my teeth as a red fire unlike any these criminals have ever witnessed in their miserable lives begins burning inside my mouth, “Hypocrites. Hypocrites! HYPOCRITES!”

With a mighty roar, fire engulfs the alley. Like a dragon releasing his deadly flames on a defenseless village, so my fiery breath incinerates the screaming bodies of the crying thugs, turning them to dust in mere seconds, along with most of the objects that stood behind them. As I finally close the gap between my jaws, I begin to think that perhaps, just perhaps, I got slightly carried away this time.

 

“That was awesome! Thank you so much for saving me!”, I call Hamlet from behind: I’ve never been happier my whole life! Probably because I was going to die if he didn’t save me… but still! Too bad he’s still mad at me… I really messed up, didn’t I?

“You need not thank me for what I have done, and you need not apologize for what you did either.”, he tells me as he attempt to leave, “I merely saved you because it was the right thing to do. Do not get the wrong idea: I am still not over what you did at the restaurant.”

“No! Please, don’t go!”, I beg him as I grab his clothes and stop him right in his tracks, preventing him from walking away; with teary eyes and a face that would make even a demon feel compassion, or at least that’s what I’m aiming for, I try to explain, “I am so, so sorry for what I did! You’re right: I did lie to you. I was hungry and I needed directions: that’s why I did what I did. But… everything else I told you was real! I swear!”

“It hardly matters now. Take your food, and begone from my sight.”, he immediately replies, unwilling to believe me anymore.

“Please! You have to believe me!”, I suddenly scream as I drop down to the ground and start bowing, determined to do anything to convince him to forgive me, “I’m sorry! I’ll make it up to you: I promise! I only wanted to find this kingdom everyone’s talking about, but I’ll follow you everywhere else if that’s what you want! And I won’t ask you for food ever again either!”; my stomach growls, and I hear my mouth speak on its own, “Besides, I never ate solid food in my life, so I couldn’t eat that ‘entrecote’ you tried to feed me even if I wanted to…”

“Oh, is that so?”, he wonders aloud as I shut my mouth, only now realizing how stupid I was in saying that; before I can apologize, however, the noble hands me a bottle of some kind, filled with some kind of… purple drink.

 “Drink this then: it’s a highly-nutritional… ‘liquid’ my mother prepares that is monster-friendly.”, he reassures me as I excitedly take it from him, “Just… do not ask what it is.”; I drink the whole bottle in a couple of seconds: it’s sweet, but it has a weird aftertaste. It’s totally different from everything dad usually gives me, but it’s really nice anyway. Realizing the man’s infinite generosity, I thank him from the bottom of my heart for the meal he offered me, a pint of regret on my lips.

“I still can’t pay for it though…”, I admit, still sad, “How can I make this all up to you?”

“I suppose there will be plenty of ways to do so as I bring you to my home.”, he responds as he begins to walk away, before turning around and staring at me in the eyes, much calmer than before, “And if you are wondering: my house is, indeed, within the kingdom you are looking for.”

I stare at him for what seems to me like an eternity, wondering whether he really said what I think he said, then I realize I’m crying so I wipe my eyes with my hands’ fur. I run as fast as the wind to hug him and thank him even more, but since he still doesn’t trust me all that much, and since he doesn’t want me to dirty his clothes, I back away shortly afterwards.

“Just so we are clear: I am only bringing you there so I can figure out who you really are, and if you are indeed telling me the truth about yourself. Try anything funny, and I will off you on the spot.”, he warns me as we get out of this horrible alley.

“Of course!”, I reply, happier than I’ve ever been, “Thank you for staying with me. I promise I won’t let you down!”


	2. Lust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two girls set out for a date a few days before Christmas, but the evening soon turns sour...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this took a long time to finish! So many projects I have to work on, and so little time... I apologize. I would have posted updates, but I feared a return to my old habit of setting deadlines I never followed, so I avoided doing that.
> 
> After March, I will return to a somewhat normal schedule, which means I will have more time to (not) work on the novel. I hope the few of you who were interested in the last chapter will be interested in this one as well. Have a good day!

It’s been almost five minutes now: where did she go? I remained here like she asked me to, but I’m starting to get worried about her; of course, it’s Lucy I’m talking about, so worrying is pointless, but… I don’t know, I just can’t help it. I’m getting tired of watching humans come and go, again and again: everyone has a unique skin, unique hair, unique clothes and so on and on… but the look in everyone’s eyes is always the same. Despair, paranoia and loneliness, all mixed together in a way that aims to convince as many people as possible to look the other way.

I feel a gentle finger poking my right shoulder: excited, I turn around and see, much to my joy, my girlfriend Lucy smiling at me, very happy with herself, with a couple of ice-creams in her hands; the one she got for me is vanilla flavored, my favorite, and its plain but nevertheless beautiful color resembles that of my fur, while hers is chocolate flavored, obviously, and its brownish color certainly isn’t among the best I’ve ever seen. “Ta-dah! I bought you some ice-cream!”, she excitedly tells me as she hands me my treat, before asking me, a tad nervous, “I haven’t screwed up the flavor again, have I? You know how forgetful I am when it comes to this kind of thing…”

Forgetful? I love you, Lucy, but it’s already a miracle you remember your own name. “Actually, you remembered correctly this time! Many thanks for the kind thought as well: I honestly   
didn’t expect it.”, I respond as I begin licking the cone from the top, savoring every drop, “It’s really good, but I’m not really one for eating ice-cream when it’s so cold…”

“Oh, come on! You’re tougher than that! What, you want me to eat your ice-cream for you too?”, my friend jokes as she starts to eat her own cone rather nonchalantly as we begin heading towards our destination; “Can’t let the weather decide what we should or shouldn’t do, can we?”, she immediately boasts, earning a squint from me.

“You surely don’t seem to want that, alright.”, I remark as I point my finger at her extremely thin shirt and at her small, rugged and, most importantly, wide-open jacket, both of which are as   
black as her hair; at least she’s wearing a pair of long, dark jeans, but even with those on I can’t really understand how she’s managing not to freeze to death.

“Nice to know your mind’s on the same track as mine.”, Lucy comments with a smile on her lips as she looks at my finger, which I only now realize is, much to my embarrassment, aimed straight at her breasts; I immediately put both of my hands in my coat’s pockets as both of my cheeks begin burning like ovens, but my partner doesn’t waste any time at all and uses this occasion to try and snuggle with me in the middle of the street, stealing a few kisses from me and a few nasty looks from passers.

“You know, for someone who’s covered from head to toe by the softest and most huggable fur conceivable, you really love complaining about the Winter cold, don’t you Celeste?”, she comments as she lets me go from her warm embrace; I’d love for her to continue, but I can’t really show her so much affection in public… even though I really want to.

“You know I just worry about you.”, I reply as the heat in my cheeks multiplies by ten, “I know you can’t get sick, but you can still feel the temperature like everyone else, and I don’t want you   
to feel uncomfortable…”

“Aww, you’re so cute!”, she tells me, slightly embarrassed as well, as she starts twisting what I told her in her head to make it a bit more… ‘frisky’. I’ve seen that weird smile a thousand times, Lucy: stop thinking that kind of stuff in the middle of the road!

Eventually, we reach our destination: a huge clothes shop, full of… well, clothes, but clothes of a brand that flat-out refuses to sell within the kingdom; usually I would refuse to buy anything from a brand like that, but their dresses are too good to pass up. There’s a good reason monsters get permits to come shopping in this town every so often, and it’s the same reason that we’re here today: to find a decent shop and buy some presents for our families; step one is complete, now onto step two.

The place is huge, and it’s really crowded too: there are so many attires of so many different shapes, sizes and colors that it’s difficult to settle on anything specific. Between the black floor, the white walls and the constant moving between different aisles, I feel like I’m losing myself on a huge chessboard… and I’ve never been a great fan of chess.

“What do you plan on getting for your brother and parents?”, I ask Lucy, who doesn’t seem nearly as excited as she was before; to be honest, though, it seems that very few people are enjoying their time in here.

“I dunno, really: mom likes to wear red, so anything that’s red should do for her. For the other two, same thing really: just replace ‘red’ with ‘black’ and you’re golden.”, she nonchalantly responds, not really interested in making sure her family likes their gifts, “Maybe I’ll get mom a soft pajama: she definitely could use one. My little bro never wears anything I gift him anyway, so I might as well get him another stupid-looking tie. And dad… I guess I’ll get him a pair of gloves?”

“Why not buy everyone a stupid-looking tie instead?”, I joke, laughing at the dumb thought in my head.

“Great idea! You’re a genius, Celeste!”, she immediately replies, causing my jaw to drop in surprise, almost as if I just gave her the greatest life advice ever: why did I even talk? I should’ve known this would happen… I can only hope she’ll forget I was the one who gave her the idea.

While Lucy looks around on her own, searching for the dumbest ties imaginable, I’m left to wander around on my own, thinking about what I could gift my family this year. My father likes anything that’s classy and elegant, and he’s in desperate need of a new suit, so I bet he’ll like this black and white tuxedo. My mother’s not as sophisticated as my father is, so anything will do… well, these red heels look really nice, so I might as well get them for her. Oh, and this shirt for kids looks exactly like a tuxedo: given how much my little brother likes imitating his dad, I’m sure he’ll love it.

Well, this should be everything… oh, wait: I forgot to check the prices! Please, don’t be too high… holy crap they’re expensive! I don’t have this much money with me! What do I do now… I bet Lucy’s got more than enough to cover me, but I’d feel ashamed to ask her to pay for my expenses, especially knowing I’d never be able to give her back what I owe her!

“Hey, Celeste: check this out!”, I hear Lucy shout at me from behind, “Ain’t this the funniest shit you’ve ever read in your life? Hamlet’s gonna hate me forever once I give this to him.”

I turn around to face her, but trip on something that’s on the ground and fall face-first into my girlfriend, who falls backwards as a result: everything that we’d been carrying is now lying on the ground, but I’m okay since I fell on something… smooth. And bouncy. Oh, no…

“Celeste… your face is so warm.”, I hear Lucy whisper to me while I try get her breasts off of my face, but in return she tightly hugs me with both her arms and her legs, unwilling to let go of me; “Oh, please… don’t act so offended: we both know you love this…”, she adds as I scream like a little girl who’s just seen the devil himself appear in her room, but all the sound my lips let out is blocked by the giggly barrier right before my eyes and that I can’t take my gaze off of…

“Hey, what are you two doing!?”, I hear a rather surprised voice call us, making my cheeks even redder than they were before: I can barely see the profile of a store employee in the corner of my eye, and I can’t tell whether what he’s seeing is angering him, arousing him, or both.

“I dunno: what do you think you’re doing, standing there like a dummy?”, Lucy replies as she holds me even closer to her, like a mother protecting her own child; with a devilish grin, she adds, almost killing me on the spot, “We’re just having a sweet moment between lovers: we’re entitled to that, aren’t we? Or… do you secretly want to join us?”

Using an immense amount of strength I didn’t even know I had, I finally manage to liberate my face from my girlfriend’s bosoms and begin screaming like I never did in my life: a long, uninterrupted scream, full of embarrassment and regret, the likes of which will be remembered by everyone in the store for the rest of their lives… especially by me.

 

“Thanks for paying for my gifts, Lucy.”, I mutter, still embarrassed and shook from what just happened, as we exit the locale holding our gifts in simple plastic bags, “To be honest, I’m surprised they even let us buy all that stuff after what we did…”

“What ‘we’ did? Oh, please: that was wholly my fault.”, she immediately replies to me, both proud and slightly embarrassed, “You know how I become when I start thinking about-”

“Boobies.”, I finish her phrase for her, “You need to stop thinking about those and about me in the same sentence so often.”

“But yours are so good!”, she suddenly yells, garnering the attention of everyone in the street for a split second, “They’re fluffy, they’re warm, and just the right size! I would die for you, don’t get me wrong… but for those, I would die twice!”

“I mean… if you say so…”, I respond as everyone else stops listening to our conversation, perhaps wishing they never started in the first place. Meanwhile, I hand over all of the things I bought to Lucy, who quickly makes them disappear in a small cloud of black dust: I never really understood how this ability of hers works, but I’m sure not even she knows; maybe I should ask her father the next time I see him.

“So, where do you want to go now?”, my girlfriend asks me as she stops me right in my tracks: her expression is the same one she has when she’s thinking of… you know… so I’m a little worried.

“What do you mean, ‘where do I want to go now’? Weren’t we supposed to head home as soon as we finished buying presents?”, I ask her in return, unsure of what she’s thinking of.

“I mean, we could go back, if you’re tired…”, she tells me, before adding with a smirk “But, I’m feeling real thirsty tonight: how about we hit a bar first, and then go back? It could be fun, for all you know.”

Why should ‘hitting a bar’ be fun? I hope Lucy doesn’t have weird ideas in mind… if she feels thirsty, I should definitely let her relieve herself at a bar, but I fear she may take everything a bit too far like always. It would definitely be safer to just go back, but… wouldn’t that make me look like a wimp?

“So? What do you want to do?”, she inquisitively inquires yet again.

“Sure. Lead the way.”, I reply as my partner grabs my hand and starts sprinting towards a bright locale on the other side of the square, whose name I can’t even read due to how fast we’re running. I can’t tell much about it from outside, but it certainly doesn’t seem like an obscene place, so I don’t get why Lucy would bring me here of all places.

The bar itself doesn’t look too bad: just a generic, futuristic locale full of neon lights, unlikely colors and alcohol. Glass stools instead of chairs, bottles of all colours, shapes and sizes behind the counter, a repurposed jukebox filled with the latest crappy techno music, and a whole lot of people with awful accents and even worse clothes… you know, that kind of bar.

“Are you sure this place is alright?”, I inquire, but my partner is already headed towards a big group of men and women around twenty, with mean, ‘cool’ looks on their faces and beers in their hands.

“Of course! Just pick a guy to chat with, a beer to drink, whatever suits you: I’ll just have some fun on my own for a little while, before we head home. I promise I won’t get too drunk, if that’s what you’re worried about!”, she manages to say, with a voice as fast as lightning, before she gets out of my reach and into the hands of that group of no-goods. I know she can’t get drunk either, so I’m not worried about that: what I’m worried about is that she might… ugh, nevermind that.

I sit at the counter and look around: there are many people, sure, but they terrify me too much for me to even dare to approach them. What if I start talking to the wrong people, and Lucy’s not around to help me? I could get in trouble, and my father would kill me once I got home… you know, maybe I really am a wimp.

“Can I help you?”, I hear a voice beckon me from the other side of the counter: a handsome, but fairly young boy is watching me with a friendly look whilst cleansing a cup thoroughly. Evidently, he’s the barista, but I wasn’t aware that humans could get hired so young in this nation.

“Uhm, can I get a glass of water, please? Any kind of water will do, as long as it’s not too cold.”, I reply, saying the first things that passed into my mind. Maybe I should have ordered something stronger to look more like my fiancé, but it’s a tad too late to do so.

“Sure! Gimme a sec: people don’t usually come here for water, you know!”, he tells me, causing my cheeks to turn red in embarrassment: I hide it before he can notice, and force myself to listen as he asks me “Hey, aren’t you the daughter of…”

“I am.”, I answer before he can even finish his question: I’m used to hearing it by now, and the reply now comes to me automatically. Who cares if people recognize me? As long as I have Lucy nearby, I’m safe from any thieves and criminals… I think.

“Wow, cool!”, he says as he hands me a bottle of natural water and a small cup, surprising me with his enthusiasm, “I’ve always wanted to get in the kingdom, but I can’t afford to at the moment.”

“Really?”, I ask as he pours the liquid in my glass, glad that I found someone I can talk with that isn’t a complete jerk, “Why’s that?”

“My mother: she’s the only family I’ve left, and she’s on her deathbed. It would be wrong to abandon her now, so I have to stay at least until she… you know…”, he whispers me while I drink, with as calm an expression as he can muster, “Besides, I heard you’re getting so many applications you can only accept, like, one every ten-thousand: I don’t think you’d accept someone who only graduated high-school like me over thousands of others who have actually done something with their lives…”

Suddenly, the barman’s called by the group of humans Lucy’s infiltrated in: ten small glasses of vodka, one for each of them plus my girlfriend… I know I shouldn’t be worried since, you know, it’s Lucy and all, but…

“So, what do you think?”, the boy inquires, having already come back from the nearby table; honestly, I’ve already forgotten what we were talking about… something about applications for immigration?

“We’re getting a lot of applications, it’s true, but we don’t only consider school grades or career choices when deciding who gets in and who doesn’t: other personal characteristics, such as your attitude, character, and determination in pursuing your life objectives, including getting inside the kingdom, are also evaluated… even though I don’t personally know how.”, I tell him, trying to remember everything my father told me about the immigration process, “I suggest getting, compiling and sending all the papers in advance, just so we have as much time as possible to review them, and then-”

“Goddammit! What did you… do!?”, I suddenly hear Lucy scream from the nearby table, interrupting my speech; I turn to face her and see her stumbling away from the table she was sitting at, looking dizzy and helpless, using the counter next to her in order to keep standing… what happened to her!?

“What are you talking about? You just drank some beer!”, one of the guys exclaims, causing the girls at the table to giggle like little children.

“Bullshit! You put something... in my beer!”, my partner manages to say as she walks towards me, crumbling in my arms as soon as I touch her.

“Lucy! Are you alright?”, I ask, already beginning to panic.

“They spiked my drink… dammit…”, she whispers me, as her breathing becomes fuzzy and her eyes start closing, “I need to… to rest… for a few minutes… you have to… run away...”

“No way! I’m not leaving you here!”, I yell at her as I make for the exit, holding her now unconscious body in my arms: I’m strong enough to walk while carrying her, I think… but if she’s right and those people put some kind of drug in her drink, then I might need to run instead: it’s possible those thugs could come after us, and I don’t like that possibility.

As I get somewhat far away from the locale, I turn around to see if we’re really being followed, and to my horror I see that those humans have just come out of the bar, looking for us. As soon as they see us, they start sprinting towards us while shouting intimidating words, and my heart begins beating thrice as fast as before: I can’t let them reach me, I have to run away… even if it kills me. You really could use a few less pounds, Lucy… I just hope you recover quickly…

 

It’s been roughly ten minutes since those guys began chasing me, and Lucy’s still knocked out: my body’s begging me to stop running, and honestly I’m starting to think that maybe I should listen to it. I can’t see or hear those thugs anymore, so I think we’re okay for now… I’m just going to rest for a bit in this alley, gently put down my girlfriend and see if I can help her wake up faster.

“Come on, Lucy: wake up!”, I tell her as I massage her face with my paws, in vain, “You can’t leave me now! You’re supposed to protect me! What am I going to do if you keep sitting there like that!”

“You’re wasting your time, baby: that girl ain’t waking up anytime soon.”, I hear a voice yell at me condescendingly from behind, scaring me to death: the group of mean-looking thugs I was so desperately trying to avoid has found me at last, and they look even more menacing than they did before at the bar… I immediately try to escape to the other side of the backstreet, but I only now realize that there is no way out from here aside from the way I entered! I literally trapped us in here without realizing it!

“W-What did you do to her!?”, I ask in a panic, trying to buy some time for both of us.

“Oh, you know: I just sneaked a little ‘extra’ in her beer… something that’ll make her sleep peacefully and quietly for a long, long time.”, the evil man replies, earning some giggles from his peers, “Last guy that tried it couldn’t wake up for three days straight… but I’m gonna bet she’ll sleep for five!”

This situation doesn’t look good at all… I don’t know what to do! “Why are you doing this? We didn’t do anything to you people!”, I yell at them, desperately trying not to cry: for the first time in years, I feel truly scared… both for my own life, and for my fiancée’s.

“You really wanna know? We just needed to grab a few hostages for a little ‘job’ later tonight!”, the man answers my question as he grabs my arm and forcibly takes me closer to his group, as well as further away from Lucy’s unconscious body; “We and our gang are gonna be rich as fuck tomorrow! We’re gonna barge into the ‘Liberty Supermall’ guns blazing, steal everything we find and kill everyone who tries to stop us! And if the police gets any fancy ideas, we’ll just have to point a gun to her…”

The man suddenly stops mid-track, almost making me fall to the ground in the process: he and his accomplices stare at me for a while, dead silent, almost as if all of them suddenly realized something incredibly important just now… oh, no.

“Hey, aren’t you… that insufferable brat-princess of that stupid kingdom?” one of the thugs in the back finally recognizes me, causing everyone’s expressions to darken even more as they stare directly into my eyes, dark thoughts crossing their minds. The thugs begin digging into their pockets for knives and other deadly cutlery, and I’m pretty sure someone in the back even has a loaded pistol of some kind: ‘scared’ doesn’t even begin to describe how I’m feeling right now.

“Well, well, well: aren’t we lucky? Princess Celeste herself came all the way here from her ultra-luxury castle to aid us in our quest for riches!”, the criminal holding my arm tells me in a somewhat more sophisticated and definitely much more ironic manner; as he forces me to caress his cheek with my hand like a creep, he remarks, in the most evil tone I’ve ever heard in my life, “Your friend over there would’ve been a nice present for the authorities, sure… but you! You’re going to be even better! You’re frail, defenseless… and much more valuable than any human will ever be! Heck: as long as we keep a knife next to your throat at all times, not even that psycho Italian bodyguard of yours will be able to touch us!”

I hear a noise coming from behind me in the middle of the man’s gloating: a breath, a subtle movement, the sound of knuckles cracking… nothing that my would-be captors could hear with their human ears. Seems like this nightmare is finally over… for me, at least.

“Maybe my father’s bodyguard won’t be here to save me…”, I tell him, a new fire burning in my eyes, “...But his daughter, mine, most certainly is!”

Before the surprised man can react, I put the hand he’s been holding this whole time in front of his face, and summon some of my magical power within it: a blinding flash of light strikes the gangster’s face, causing him to scream and whimper as his vision is taken away from him temporarily, and I use this distraction to turn around and run towards my girlfriend in order to gain a few more seconds while I wait for her to fully wake up.

Except that I don’t really need to wait any longer: I hear a female voice shout “ **Venere!** ” behind my back and, right afterwards, a black and red figure dashes from behind towards the group of evildoers, holding a large sword between its hands. With a graceless motion, the figure strikes the sword towards the yelling man, cutting its body in half with an oblique motion, ending its suffering in an instant.

 

[ **Pinch Battle** , by Takami Asano (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjfo_AuGEFk&list=RDHjfo_AuGEFk)]

“You motherfuckers went too far, and now I’m really mad!”, I hear Lucy scream at the group of panicking humans, who no longer know what to do: oh, am I glad to see her right now! I was starting to think she would’ve never woken up, but thankfully she’s just as strong as she claims she is.

While the girls ahead of us keep screaming and pointing at the dead body of their friend on the floor, some of the guys start asking aloud “Dude, why’s she standing like that? Wasn’t she supposed to be sleeping or somethin’?”

“You really thought that you could knock me out for more than a few minutes? Please!”, my partner yells back as she cleans the blood from her red sword before pointing it at the humans, probably staring at them with fiery eyes as well, “You fucked with the wrong pussy tonight, and you’re gonna regret it big time! I’d start running if I were you, cowards!”

Following Lucy’s vulgar advice, most of the girls and a few of the boys begin breaking formation and head for the street as fast as their legs allow them to, allowing them to escape my partner’s rage: unfortunately, far too many thugs yell at the escapees and stay behind to try and take her on… I wish they would have realized that this wasn’t a good idea since the very start, but I can’t do anything about them now.

The man with a gun begins shooting his weapon at Lucy, emptying his whole magazine into her in a futile attempt to kill her: none of the bullets actually reach her, however, as they all sharply deviate their trajectory, even those that weren’t going to hit her at all, and hit the sword’s fuller instead, becoming attached to the blade like a metal pin to a magnet. My friend caresses her sword in a peculiar manner, causing the projectiles to simultaneously fall to the ground, producing a beautiful metallic sound as they hit the floor.

“You done? Good: now’s my turn, assholes!”, Lucy screams as she charges towards her enemies, weapon drawn and ready to strike: furious like she’s never been, with a singular horizontal strike she cuts half of her opponents in half, spilling blood and tears everywhere around her.

A girl grabs a dagger from one of her friends’ pocket and tries to stab Lucy with it, succeeding only partially: the blade penetrates her ankle, causing her to growl for a split-second, but with a swift motion with her free right hand she disarms the girl, throws the knife on the ground, launches her attacker in the air like a balloon, then throws her sword at her, stabbing her in the heart and impaling her into a wall, letting her die a fast, but very painful death.

Another boy, undeterred by what he just saw my fiancé do, tries to assault her while she’s unarmed, unaware of her powers: in an instant, the sword disappears from the wall it was stuck into and reappears in my girlfriend’s left hand amid a cloud of black dust, allowing her to slash his torso and end his life as well…

You know, that’s a lot of blood I’m seeing… and all these screams are making me dizzy too… I don’t think I should watch this anymore, so I decide to hide behind a dumpster and wait for Lucy to finish her carnage. I’m still not used to all… this… it’s honestly not pleasing to the sight at all. The bodies… the blood… the screams… Lucy’s expression as she swings her sword around… and her blood-red eyes full of evil and pleasure… I think I need to vomit…

 

“Hey, are you alright?”, I hear Lucy’s soft voice after… I don’t know how long: I turn around and stare at her, still shocked from that whole experience, and see that she’s not nearly as angry as she was before. Her clothes are no longer dirty, she’s got cuts all over her chest and her expression’s kind of… sad. Regretful, even.

“Are you alright!?”, I ask in a panic as I check her wounds, looking for anything too big to be cured by her powers: thankfully, they’re all fairly small and not too deep, which means she’ll be able to fix them on her own in a couple of minutes.

“I am.”, she tells me, “Can’t say the same about all those bastards over there… or you.”; I look towards where the thugs were standing: the whole alleyway’s turned red, and the garbage bins are now full, probably with the bodies of the deceased… I can tell Lucy did as good a job as she could to avoid making me see anything else that could haunt my dreams.

“What do you mean?”, I ask her, confused.

“This wasn’t how it was supposed to go!”, she suddenly screams as she bangs her head against the wall on the opposite side of the backstreet, almost crying for some reason; “I just wanted this date to go well, for once! But those fuckers had to come around, and now there’s blood and corpses everywhere! Why do my plans never work out!?”

“Your ‘plan’?”, I ask, in an attempt to understand my girlfriend’s fit of sadness, “What did you have in mind, exactly?”

After somehow calming down, albeit not immediately, and sliding downwards to sit, Lucy finally answers, in tears, “You never seem happy whenever we go out together: I tried to bring you to a bowling alley, to a cinema, to a fancy restaurant… but your shyness and fear of others always keeps you from having a good time. So I thought that maybe, if I could get you to open up to someone else, I could unlock something inside you that would’ve allowed you to have fun again, like we used to when we were kids!”

“I never… have any fun?” I ask aloud, both to my partner and to myself: when was the last time I had fun? When was the last time I smiled because I was enjoying myself? Lucy’s company is great, and I couldn’t live without it, but… is it lacking something important? Am I lacking something important?

“Man, I’m a shitty girlfriend, right?”, she suddenly says, ending my daydreaming session, “Instead of staying by your side, I left you alone and went partying with a bunch of fuckers because I wanted to feel like I’m a ‘big girl’, like I’m no longer the sad, lonely girl I was in kindergarten… and now you probably think I’m a psycho killer too because I defended you… like that…”

That’s… a lot to process, to be honest. Way too much. I obviously don’t hate her, at all, but what if I tell her that and she doesn’t believe me? Lucy’s the kind of person who takes criticism very harshly, so… what’s the right answer?

Thinking I figured it out, I approach her and lend her my hand to pull her back on her feet: “We both have a lot of issues… but I’m fine with that. Are you?”

She stares at me for a while, confused; then, with her usual snarky expression and devious smile, she grabs my hand and stands up with my help, saying “Hella.”, which I think means that she’s okay with it.

“So… wanna head home?”, Lucy asks as we get out of the alley, having already regained her normal attitude.

“Sounds like a plan.”, I reply, glad that this is finally over, “But please, try not to mention anything to my father… or yours, for that matter.”

“Mention what?”, she responds in return, making us both laugh. The night’s still young, but I think we’ll both take a break… for now, at least.


	3. Update

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Man, how long has it been since I made one of these? TwT

Hey! It has been a while since I last posted something on here.

 

Man, I hate making updates like these. Always hated it. I feel like they are just excuses, but I think you deserve to know what I have been doing, and what I am planning to do.

 

So, to start things off: I am still busy! Let's just say a friend of mine is in an awful situation right now, and she could use some more money in her pockets... so, I am participating in a tournament (that I cannot point you to, sorry. TwT) to place 1st and gift her some dosh. The tournament's deadline is the 25th of this month, so that's when I will begin working on the third chapter, and after that I will try getting out a few more chapters before my creative spark runs dry and I start working on short stories again. TwT

 

This brings me to the reason why I am not going as fast as I once did: that is, because I have actually worked on a few short stories while also working on this series, and I have made a few before starting it too. I have been publishing them on the site hosting the tournament so far, but if you want, I can publish them on here too. You know, like a little something to keep you interested in me and my work while I finish my tournament entry and begin working on this series again.

 

Also, about this friend of mine: she has actually made cover images for the first two chapters of this very series, which are also on the site that is hosting the tournament. Perhaps I can give you a link to them, if you are interested and if she lets me share them. And maybe, if I am lucky, I could get some character art in the future too! =3

 

That's all there is. Sorry for the delay! Tell me what you think, and have a good day.


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